“Agnes,” he said, his voice firm but quiet to keep from waking Katherine though part of him knew she wouldn’t wake at the sound of a voice, “we daenae want ye to fall ill either. Fetch the healer and get yerself to bed in me chambers. Ye can see Katherine again when she’s well.” He looked behind her at Tilly, who must have heard the commotion and came looking. “Watch her, aye? Keep her from comin’ too close.”
Tilly nodded, and Agnes hesitated for only a moment longer before she turned around and raced through the corridors, the maid following close behind. As their footsteps retreated, Liam reached out, resting the back of his hand against Katherine’s forehead. Just as Agnes had reported, she was burning up.
She did look a wee bit flushed when I saw her earlier in the day.
Cursing himself for not recognizing her illness, he pulled his arm away and finally sat down. He leaned forward, his stomach sinking as he realized she hadn’t moved at all. Not when he had spoken, nor when he had touched her.
“Katherine,” he said, his voice loud enough to wake her if she were only sleeping. Though her eyelashes fluttered, she didn’t open them. “Ye gave Agnes quite the fright.”
His fingers twitched with the sudden desire to reach out and grab her hand. Before he could, the door opened, and the healer stepped inside. He rose from his chair, taking a step back to allow the woman to work.
She placed the healer’s package on the bed before hovering over Katherine. She touched her forehead, frowning when she felt the heat. Clicking her tongue, she placed two fingers against Katherine’s pulse point.
“Nae good,” she said, the words curdling in Liam’s stomach. Without looking away from Katherine’s ghostly face, she asked, “When did she start feelin’ ill?”
“She was flushed several hours ago,” Liam said. Pushing through the guilt, he admitted, “I daenae ken how long she’s been feelin’ off. Agnes seemed to believe that it started suddenly.”
The healer hummed before digging into her bag. She produced a few vials along with a flannel. As she began working, she looked at Liam and said, “Make yerself useful, Me Laird. Bring me the water basin.”
He nodded and moved across the room with the same careful precision he used in battle. He carried it over and set it on the nightstand. Then, he reached for Agnes’s book of tales that was still lying on the bed near Katherine’s hip.
“Her fever is much too high,” the healer informed him though he could have reasoned that himself. She opened Katherine’s mouth and put a few drops of a tincture beneath her tongue. “I’m goin’ to try to bring it down. The best thing ye can do to help is stay out of me way and keep from askin’ any questions.”
Liam stepped back, grinding his teeth as he stood there, unable to do anything but watch. The healer alternated between dipping the flannel in water and wiping it over Katherine’s forehead and neck while using various tinctures and herbs on different parts of her body. When the healer asked Liam to fetch another pitcher of cool water, he found himself grateful foranythingto do.
Nearly an hour passed before the healer stood back, putting her hands on her hips. The look on her face was grim. With a resigned sigh, she said, “I’ve done all that I can. If she survives the night, she will be through the worst of it, and she will recover. If nae…” She looked back at Katherine for a beat. “The most ye can do for her is sit here. Keep the flannels damp. Her temperature needs to come down.”
With a final nod to Liam, she gathered her bag, tucking away the vials of herbs and tinctures. He waited until the healer had left the room, closing the door behind her, before returning to his position. This time, he didn’t hesitate to take her hand, lettinghis fingers rest against the inside of her wrist. Her heartbeat was still steady, still fairly strong.
“Ye heard her,” he told Katherine’s sleeping form firmly. “Ye have to make it through the night.”
Predictably, Katherine didn’t reply, but the rise and fall of her chest was enough. As long as she kept breathing, he would ask nothing else of her. He’d lost too many people throughout his life. The fact that she was still breathing was all he had to hold onto.
I wasnae ever supposed to get so attached to ye. Yet I did, and now, look at ye.
He realized with almost alarming clarity that he wasn’t worried about her for Agnes’s sake only.Hewould be devastated if he lost Katherine. Somehow, despite all of the distance he’d tried to maintain, he had been helpless to stop the irresistible pull of her.
And only now, as he might be losing her, did he realize just how much she mattered to him.
The night crawled by, each second feeling like agony. Each inhale that Katherine took was a little victory. He never dropped her hand, not even when he dipped the flannel into water and brought it back to her forehead.
As the moon was beginning to set, the darkness of the land around them becoming even more suffocating, Katherine’smouth opened. A soft sound escaped, and Liam moved in closer, trying to hear what she was saying. Once more, a quiet noise escaped, then…
“Liam.”
He went still, staring down at her. She made no other noises, said nothing else, but he knew what he’d heard. In the fog of her fever, she’d said his name. She was dreaming of him.
“Ye daenae ken what ye’re doin’ to me, Katherine,” he said, lowering his forehead to rest against her knuckles as a shiver ran through him. “Ye have absolutely nae idea.”
He lifted his head once more, his eyes tracing the gentle curve of her profile. She didn’t look nearly as pale as she had when he first arrived, but he didn’t want to let himself get his hopes up. He couldn’t believe that she’d made it through until she woke up, and she spoke with him once more.
Eventually, just as the first dregs of daylight crept into the chambers, Katherine stirred. It was slow, her fingers twitching first. Then, her eyes squeezed tighter before slowly fluttering open. He held his breath as she searched the room, her focus finally landing on him.
“Ye shouldnae be here,” she said, quiet and weak but decidedly alive.
Liam couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he pulled his hand back out of hers. Incredulously, he said, “Nor should ye. This is Agnes’s chambers. And bein’ ill isnae part of the arrangement we discussed. That is two strikes against ye.”
Katherine laughed softly, reaching back for his hand. Her lithe fingers wrapped around his large palm as if she were trying to anchor herself. For a beat, he could do nothing but stay completely still.
